Happiness Comes With Sacrifices
by thatsyou
Summary: A visit to the Stark Mansion in Long Island brings back a memory which might cause some problems in the present.
1. Chapter 1

**Long Island, NY**

**March 2010**

The door of the attic opened with a crack, startling Tony who was roaming through his old stuff. Pepper appeared in the frame, holding up a couple of boxes.

"Hi." She whispered and moved the hair out of her sweaty face. Tony sat up from his kneeling position and walked over to her with a slight limp, testament of his earlier battle with Vanko and his drones. His hand came up to stroke her cheek as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lower lip.

"Where have you been for the past three hours?" Tony inquired as he looked her over. "You're cold." His hand touched her forearm and realized she was freezing.

"I found these boxes in the basement." She said and looked down at the boxes in her arms. "Your name is written on them."

Tony looked down and inspected them with his eyes. "I was doing some research up here as well, as you can see." He said and pointed behind him where items were scattered across the room. His hand came to wipe the dust off the boxes and he opened one of them, his eyes sparkling at its contents.

Inside of the box were pictures of him playing tennis when he was around twelve and a couple of tennis balls. "I never knew my mum took pictures of me playing tennis." He said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "Let me help you, though. You look like you're about to faint."

Pepper smiled as Tony took the boxes out of her arms and set them down on the floor with a thud. "These things are heavy. I can imagine why you were about to faint." Tony said with a grin, then sat down on the floor, legs spread and pulled one of the boxes between his legs. He patted the place next to him and looked up at Pepper when she didn't sit down.

"Where are you going?" Tony asked when he saw Pepper leave the room. "I'm getting a blanket for us." She yelled from downstairs. Stark grinned as his hands ghosted over the box and his heart began to beat faster as an image of Pepper and him snuggled inside of a blanket invaded his mind.

He firmly shook the image out of his mind and returned to the box lying between his legs. He carefully pulled out a bunch of images and set them down beside the box when another thing caught his eyes. It was his old tennis racket. He pulled it out with slightly trembling hands and he looked it over for a few moments until Pepper came back with a blanket and some tea.

"What do you have there?" She asked as she sat down beside him and wrapped the blanket around her. "My old tennis racket." Tony whispered and looked at the racket with melancholy. Pepper observed the look on his face and moved closer to him. "Here, let me." She whispered as she raised the blanket for him to come closer to her.

It took him a few moments but he laid the racket back into the box and moved beneath the blanket. Pepper smiled at him and brushed the hair out of his eyes. "Are you okay?" Tony looked at her and took her smaller hand in his bigger one. "It's just… every time I'm here it's like everything comes back, you know."

Her fingers squeezed his tightly as an assurance and saw his eyes glaze over. "Tony?"

Tony's eyes snapped back to hers and the look she saw there was something akin to desperation, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "It's okay to feel this way, you know. You're not a robot, Tony." He nodded, though he didn't look at her. He kept his eyes glued to the box and he exhaled a long and tinged with an overwhelming sadness breath.

"You can tell me everything if you think it'll make you feel better." Pepper assured him as she touched his face to make him look at her. "It's really okay, Pepper. I don't want to bore you with a stupid story."

"Tony, you know I'll always be ready to listen whatever you want to tell me. That's why I'm here." Pepper said and looked at him gently. Tony smiled. "I thought you were here for entirely other reasons."

The redhead smacked his shoulder lightly, then giggled. "Only you would think that." Tony raised an eyebrow. "Really? You think so?" Pepper flashed him a toothy smile before Tony launched towards her.

Pepper caught herself before Tony could collide with her, but not entirely. Their lips came crashing together and for a few moments they stood there, lips pressed tightly against each other's, not even breathing. But after perhaps half a minute, Tony's hand grasped her wrist and pushed her gently against the wooden floor.

His other hand rested below her breast as his lips covered hers again. Pepper had expected rough, but as the seconds passed, the intensity of his kiss slowed down to a point where his lips were making love to hers. Her hand grasped his bicep through his sweater, making Tony sigh in pleasure.

It had been two weeks since their first kiss, yet anytime they kissed it felt like the first time. Each time they kissed it felt like electricity was running through his veins. Pepper could say it was the same thing for her, as well, but the touch of his lips against hers held more meanings than just that.

"Tony…" Pepper sighed against his lips. He pulled back and looked at her, his cheeks flushed. "I – uh… I'm sorry. I got a little bit excited." He explained and helped her up, but Pepper smiled. "It's okay. I could see that."

Tony chuckled and passed a hand through his hair, ruffling it up further. "Maybe you could tell me that story, you know…" Pepper suggested and made Tony lay down on the floor. She laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his waist.

Tony hesitated for a few seconds. "It ends with me never practicing tennis ever again." He said with a sigh. Pepper looked up at him and smoothed down his goatee. "You could begin with the beginning." She whispered and touched his lower lip with her fingertips.

"Well, it all began in my first year at MIT. I was the first boy who entered MIT at such a young age. I was twelve, by the way." Tony started to explain. "In my first semester there I met Rhodey. He was fourteen and incredibly tall for his age. I've never managed to be that tall like he was then, but anyway… My roommate was transferred in another campus and then was when I met Rhodey. He became my new roommate."

Pepper nodded and continued to listen. "Among other classes, Rhodey was into tennis. At first I wasn't tempted, but when I came home for Christmas, everyone was on the ninth cloud that cousin Jamie had won a national competition in England." He paused for a few seconds, trying to remember. "Rhodey had come to visit me the day after and he and mum got to talk while I was getting ready to go with him and his father to pick a Christmas tree, and he told mum about his tennis classes. She was thrilled."

Pepper sat up for a moment and took the glass with tea before taking a sip. "Do you want some?" She asked and handed him the glass when he nodded. "Mmm… mint. My favorite."

"So… after Rhodey left, mum said that I had to go with him and take tennis lessons. I said sport wasn't my thing. Dad agreed, but mum kept telling me to go until I couldn't take anymore of her begging and went with Rhodey for a free lesson. The rest is history."

Pepper wiped her lips and looked at Tony, waiting for more. "I've been playing tennis for about half a year with Rhodey's coach, but dad came along and said he had found a better coach – a young lady who looked no older than twenty." He sighed. "I wanted to remain with Rhodey and his coach, but dad insisted. The woman's name was Claudia and she was nineteen. My birthday had barely passed and as a gift I received this racket." He said and pointed to the box.

Tony swallowed then continued more serious than he had before. "I should have noticed that my dad used to spend more than fifteen minutes in her office every time he came to take me home. Well, at first he had sent his bodyguards with a car to bring me home, but then… something happened and things weren't the same again." Tony looked at Pepper with serious eyes. "This thing continued for about another year and a half before mum found out. I was fourteen by then, and like any other fourteen year old boy at MIT, I was studying all the time. I barely found time for tennis anymore."

"When Claudia had to go to a proper college, dad supported her by giving her money so that she could go to a famous college in the USA. That's when my mother found out." Tony sighed. "They broke up for five months because of her, Pepper and I… I didn't know a thing about it until I came home on summer break and noticed that something was indeed, wrong."

Pepper gasped in shock and looked at him with wide eyes. She couldn't believe it. Tony had never mentioned that thing to anyone as far as she knew. "Tony…"

"That's when mum said I should stop the whole tennis thing." Tony finished with a weak voice. "And I did. They made up because of me and because of the press and my dad's job. It was never the same, though."

Pepper couldn't trust her voice, so she nodded silently and stroked his hair. "But now – this… Have you ever played tennis before, Pepper?" Tony asked, trying to brighten the mood. "No, Tony. I haven't." She responded quickly.

Tony smiled gently. "When we get back to Malibu I'll have something set up at my mansion… if you want."

"Hmm… I'd like that." Pepper said and closed her eyes, content to be held in his arms.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Malibu, CA**

Tony stood in the front of the fireplace holding an old image in his left hand and a glass of scotch in the other one, though he wasn't looking at the photo. His eyes were distant and he looked absorbed in his own scientific thoughts.

Pepper had called a few minutes before saying that she couldn't make it to dinner at his place because an old friend of hers just arrived from New York. At first, Tony was disappointed, but then he told himself they could have dinner any other time. Pity that he had gone through three cooking books that belonged to his mother in order to cook Pepper a decent meal. He had wasted two hours on decorating the kitchen with all sorts of perfumed candles and rose petals and with the help of Jarvis, he had dimmed the lights so that the atmosphere was as romantic as it could get.

You really couldn't blame him. It was his first time trying to organize a romantic dinner.

Waking up from his thoughts, Tony realized it was getting late. He checked his watch and saw that it was half past ten. With a visible effort, he set down the glass of scotch which was full. He couldn't bring himself to drink more than one sip because he could remember pretty vividly what had happened at his birthday party.

Without even knowing that he had made a step he found himself standing in the newly repaired kitchen. It took him a minute for his eyes to adjust to the low dimmed lights. He glanced over the table and he swallowed in disappointment. He should have known she won't come. Maybe she thought he was just joking when he told her he was making her dinner. Or maybe not…

It was an internal battle with himself and he wasn't in the mood to care. He set down the image he had been holding and walked over to the windows that overlooked over the Pacific. He laid his forearm on the glass and leaned his forehead against it. He kept his eyes closed as he pressed his thumbs to his eyes, feeling suddenly tired. What he didn't notice, or whom he didn't notice was Pepper walking in hurriedly.

"There you are. I thought you had to go on a mission." She said and gasped when she saw the entire atmosphere around her. Tony turned around, his face flushed. "Um… What are you doing here? I mean… it's not like I don't want you here, it's just that you said a friend of yours came in visit and I thought you weren't coming." He babbled uselessly.

"Tony…" Pepper voice was trembling and she had tears in her eyes. Her eyes found his and she smiled when she saw concern in his. She noticed that he was wearing dark slacks, a white shirt and a gray blazer and it finally dawned on her that he must have been really serious about the whole dinner thing. "Are you okay?" Tony inquired and rushed towards her, hands grasping her wrists.

Pepper shrugged her hands out of his before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pressing her face into his neck. "Whoa. Okay…" Tony gasped and cleared his throat nervously. He put his hands on her hips and breathed in her scent which made him dizzy after a couple of minutes. "Pepper…"

The redhead broke the embrace to look him in the eyes. "I'm really sorry that I missed this." She whispered and looked over at the carefully arranged table. Tony seemed to flush even more. "Um… _that._" Pepper narrowed her eyes and touched a small cut on his cheek with her fingertips. "You cut yourself." She noticed.

Tony seemed to flinch a little. "Did you cut yourself while you were shaving?" Pepper inquired with a gentle look that skimmed all over her face. Tony looked down at his shoes and shrugged. "You know, Tony… I worry for you every time you leave on a mission, but this small cut makes me think that I don't worry enough."

"It's not what you think." Tony said and decided to lean in and flush her a little as well. When she saw him leaning in, Pepper closed her eyes and completed the last inch between their lips and gave him a chaste kiss before pulling away. "I'm hungry."

Tony grinned. "Is that so?" When he saw Pepper nod, he took her hand in his and led her to the table before pulling a chair out for her to sit down. "Good thing I haven't eaten what I made for you." Pepper's eyes widened. "You cooked?"

"You could say that." Tony said and left the table to take out something from the fridge. "This is just something I found out in my mother's old cooking book." Tony explained and uncovered the plate to reveal a culinary orgasm waiting to be tasted.

"Are you sure you made that?" Pepper asked, sounding skeptic. Tony nodded. "Taste it."

Pepper grabbed her fork and took a bite out of the pudding. "Mmm… Tony."

Tony's mouth went dry at her response. "Um… do you like it?" Pepper nodded in delight and looked at him. "This is fantastic, Tony. What is it?"

"It's Ricotta Almond Pudding." Tony responded and sat down next to her, revealing a small cup of honey. "Put some honey on it if you'd like to make it sweeter." He held up the cup. "The version in my mum's book was with strawberries. We can't have that now, can we?"

Pepper giggled and took the extended cup from him only to pour some honey on top of the dessert. "Tony it's magnificent." She whispered and continued on eating while Tony's eyes checked her out. She was wearing a pair of simple gray sweats and a dark blue tank top.

"I feel a little too overdressed in this moment." He said and gave her a shy smile. "I wanted to get changed but then you came along and…" Tony's words were cut off by Pepper who decided to tell him the news.

"I have a surprise for you." She said and laid her fork on the napkin. Tony's eyes widened in expectation and he motioned for her to continue. "The friend who came to visit me earlier this evening was an old college roommate. She's moving to Los Angeles this summer and wanted an opinion about a place she was intending to buy." She smiled a little and continued. "She's a tennis instructor and I asked her if she wanted to give us a few lessons."

Tony was half shocked, half excited by Pepper's surprise. "You did what?" He asked, wanting to hear it again. Pepper stood back, her smile fading. "I thought you said-"

"So you're agreeing with me on the tennis thing? I could have taught you how to hit the ball." Tony joked. "Seriously, Pepper."

"She agreed to see us the first Saturday of May." Pepper explained and looked up just in time before Tony planted a big kiss on her cheek. "You're a saint." He whispered excitedly and decided to get rid of his blazer.

**TBC**


End file.
